elves  live in the land      
      beyond the great dam.       
  it was built in the  late  sixties.   
    the elves came  to us then.     
                      
                      
 they  were  very  manipulative,  and  we 
 came to  trust them.          us 
 kids  would play down  at the water even 
 though we were not allowed.        
   sometimes  the  sluice  would  close 
 entirely,  and  the  river  at the  dams 
 foot  would dry  up, revealing the rocky 
 water  garden   that  had  been   hidden 
 beneath, and we would go there.      
        before the dam  opened again, 
 there would be a signal,  but  the elves 
 would make  us not hear it, and suddenly 
 we  would find the water rising, already 
 at  our knees.               
                      
   by then the elves  would be  gone.